Monday, February 13, 2017

WEEKLY COMMENTARY: Are You A "Sucker"?

Each of us is often faced with a choice. We are called
upon to balance between really letting God in ---- that means yielding to His
control, and doing things by faith that are contrary to our secular upbringing.
OR, playing it safe and cautious ---- not trusting those whom we
cannot control. We probably have this dilemma frequently, and each of us
may strike a different balance from situation to situation.

This week I heard an interesting story. A church in
Summit has a custodian who is fluent in Spanish.

During his work day a woman came to the church with her
8-year-old son. She told the custodian she had lived in Summit for a
year, but it was too expensive for her, and her uncle in Florida had offered to
take her in, but she could not afford the bus fare to make that trip.

The custodian talked with her some more and remembered a
church member who had helped others.

Perhaps he would help her. The custodian guessed when
the church member might be in the building again, and encouraged the woman to
return at that time. She did. They were introduced. The woman spoke
Spanish, but little English. The custodian was the interpreter.

"How much do you need," the church member
asked? She said the bus fare would be $300. The church member thought a
moment and said, "You will need some money to feed yourself and your son
on the bus trip ---- let's make it $400."

Most of us do not carry around $400 in cash, and neither did
this church member. They agreed to meet again at the church member's bank
at a certain time, which they did. The woman and her son hopefully now
were on their way to Florida, to start a new chapter with friends and family
who could help her going forward.

One question did bother the church member ---- was this need
legitimate, or were his kind instincts being abused? There was really no
way to tell from the limited conversation he was able to have with the woman.
He knew he was being very trusting, but was he being a "sucker"?

With the woman not present, he had asked the custodian
that question. The custodian replied ---- "Remember the story Jesus
tells of the Good Samaritan. The injured man in the road could have been
the decoy for an ambush, but the Samaritan took a chance, and we still talk
about it."

The church member had taken a chance based on trusting the
woman, but probably he will never know the outcome. He will never know if
he had been a "sucker." But what gave him the confidence to
take this risk? Was the $400 gift a thoughtlessly generous action, or had
something set the stage? What kinds of risks are you prepared to take for
other people? Has your growing hospitality toward God brought you under
the guiding influence of a greater faith? More was at stake than the future of
this woman and her 8-year-old son. Isn't the degree of our hospitality
toward God being tested whenever we are in a situation like this?